A Wrinkle in Time (original 1962; edition 1970)

One reason I wanted to read Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is that I had heard that it was a must-read classic. Although, having now read it, I can see how it has become a classic. However, I feel that the central ideas and plot concepts have been rehashed, redone, and re-imagined several times since its publishing; and, unfortunately, it has been done with more success.

While I hate comparing any modern novels to L'Engle's work, it is nearly impossible not to do so. The novels that are just as fantastical in nature--whether science fiction or not--are written for a more specific audience in mind. Therefore, today's popular authors of this genre tend to be more focused on conveying a central message and building the book's world around that message. In my opinion, I felt as if L'Engle had neither a central message in mind nor a firm grasp about what she wanted her world(s) to look like when writing her novel.

Despite my humble opinion, I did enjoy my overall experience of reading L'Engle's work. The fantastical and scientific aspects of the story were a collective breath of fresh air after so many recent readings of dramatic works of realism with more serious tones and subject matter.

I could definitely find use of this book in a high school setting, but it is more likely to find a more welcoming home at the middle school level due to its fantastical aspects. Regardless of the grade level, as a teacher, I would couple it with pop culture media that convey the similar themes of non-conformity, resilience in the face of hopelessness, and companionship. By comparing L'Engle's work to pop culture media, there is also a lot of room to discuss the evolution of genres and writing since the 70's. ( )

A total let down.
This is supposed to be her masterpiece and I did not like it, so I don't think I will check out any other books by her. It was fairly trite. It is pretty much a sci-fi story, but then there are inexplicable sideturns into religion. It felt like the kind of cheat a Creationist Tea Partier would try. Overall, though, the story was just flat and trite and the tone changes suddenly toward the end, just in order to bring the story to a conclusion. The reader did a fine job in mimicking different voice and was always very pleasant, despite a really poor recording quality at the beginning. I love children books and was really looking forward to reading this, since it is supposed very intelligent and challenging. It was neither. ( )

This series took me places that I never thought were possible. I loved the imagination and the way that it was captured in the pages of these books. I really felt like I was there with Meg when she was being held in the arms of Aunt Thing. I also really identified with Meg as a person and that is what I think also gave this book such a high ranking on my list. The key thing though, literary wise, was how I felt transported to another world with every word that I read. I could see myself right along with the characters in this book and to me, that’s something really special.

This was a very pretty little book. I liked the first half a lot - it had some nicely written parts, the characters were rather well drawn, and I didn't find the Christian themes terribly intrusive. Had to knock a star off for the second half though - it becomes very heavy-handed, morality-wise, not in an offensive way or anything, but it feels a bit tell-y rather than show-y. I really didn't like how abruptly everything was resolved. Rare book that could maybe have used an extra fifty pages. May or may not read the rest, given the state of my to read list it'll be a while... ( )

Loved this book when I read it as a child, still enjoyed it when I read it with my kids. They seemed to enjoy it too. Definitely stands up to the Memory Test. ( )